Do you know palm oil is a type of edible oil extracted from palm trees? The trees are native to Africa, but now it has been spread across different parts of the world. Indonesia and Malaysia hold approx 85 percent of the production share.
If you want to know more about palm oil and the palm oil market read on to find out.
What is the way to get palm oil?
The scientific name of the oil is Elaeis Guineensis, and the oil has two types namely crude palm oil and palm kernel oil. To produce crude palm oil, the manufacturer squeezes the fresh fruit with the help of machines or manmade tools, and to produce palm kernel oil, the kernel or the stone in the middle of the fruit is squeezed.
What is the use of palm oil?
It is extensively used in pizza, chocolate, doughnuts, deodorant, toothpaste, lipstick, and many more. People from different parts of the world also use it as animal feed and as a biofuel. Many studies are always going on to understand more and more usages of oil in different industries.
Palm oil is very versatile and comes with various properties and functions. It remains in semi-solid condition at room temperature and is also resistant to oxidation. You get great shelf life that makes it highly useful. You can use it for frying products and making them crispy and crunchy.
The oil remains stable at high temperatures and generally does not produce an odor of any sort. Asian and African people love enjoying their meals made with palm oil. They use it as a great substitute for other types of edible oil.
What are the challenges of palm oil?
In the recent past, this high oil demand has led to deforestation. People are destroying forests, which leads to the destruction of the habitat of endangered animals like Sumatran Rhino, Orangutan, and the Pygmy Elephant.
Experts are stressing that it has become one of the major causes of more greenhouse emissions in the high production countries too. It is very much needed to adopt more sustainable and scientific ways to adopt the extraction of oil so that damage to nature could be minimized.
Top players of the palm oil manufacturing
Indonesia:- 33.4
Malaysia: 19.9
Thailand: 1.8
Colombia: 1.2
Nigeria: 0.94
Ecuador: 0.53
Guatemala: 0.52
Papua New Guinea: 0.5
All the figures are given in millions and they are the approx production. Depending on the demand, the production also increases.
A top player in the use of palm oil
India is one of the biggest players in the consumption of palm oil. The country manufactures palm oil, but it is not enough to fulfill the high demand of the public. In the import market, it has a share of approx 19 percent.
India is followed by the European Union (15 percent), China (14 percent), and others. In the EU, Germany is the biggest market.
Final Word
It is expected that the coming year will bring more cheer to the palm oil industry. All the forecasts are indicating an upward trajectory. The palm oil market provides direct and indirect employment to millions of people and plays a great role in the economic development of many countries.